“There is no Greek, no Jew”: the interpretation of the words of apostle Paul in Russian church journalism in the late 19th-early 20th century

The article examines the interpretation by Orthodox priests, theologians and church publicists of the late 19th-early 20th centuries. the words of the Apostle Paul that in Christ there is “neither Greek nor Jew”. Using the example of works published in diocesan gazettes and bulletins, religious journals and individual brochures, the author shows and analyzes the attitude of church authors to the problem of the relationship between the universal and the national and their perception of nationalism, which was gaining influence in Russian society. The relevance of the article is due to the fact that the controversy around the words of the Apostle Paul continues in our time both in the church and secular environment. The novelty of the research is seen in the fact that among the few works devoted to the attitude of the representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church to the theory and practice of Russian nationalism, the problem put in the title of the article was not specifically considered. The author shows that though there was a variety of reasons why during the period under review church publicists spoke about the words of the Apostle Paul, their judgments had much in common, which allows us to speak of a prevailing direction in assessing the place of the national in Orthodoxy that developed during this time in the Russian church environment. The publications studied show that their authors, without questioning the “universality” of Christianity, at the same time defended the right to the existence of national cultures and traditions. The diversity of national cultures was considered by them as part of the divine plan, and the complete overcoming of ethnic division was seen as an ideal goal, achievable only in the “kingdom of grace.” In this regard, the task of the Church was presented to church publicists not in denying national aspirations and interests, but in bringing them closer to the Christian ideal.